Chapter 1
His steps were steady, and that’s when he saw those men, sitting around the fire.
They were laughing loudly, cracking inappropriate jokes.
“Rabbibakar.” one of them said, mockingly, as he saw the man coming near him.
Rabbibakar looked at the girl sleeping in his arms. All of the men saw him with disgrace in his eyes. He decided not to meet their gazes.
He held his daughter tightly and threw her into the fire. The last thing he saw was her body burning and the last thing he heard, despite the girl’s screams, was a man saying,
“She deserved it.”
“The next time you do this, you will end up in that fire. Do you understand?” He yelled. Aira (his wife) saw a monster instead of a man but she had to reply. She looked up, shivering, and nodded. He took some deep breaths to calm himself and went outside. That’s when her brother appeared.
“Aira, he is a good man. Don’t worry, he won’t burn you; he loves you.” He tried to make her feel better.
“Where have you been hiding, Abi?” Words escaped her mouth, with great difficulty.
“In stables, but I managed to hear the conversation,” he replied.
“You should go now, if he sees you, he will get angry,” She said while pointing towards the door. Abi nodded and made his way outside. Aira saw him going, not knowing that it was the last time she was seeing her brother.
